You Know You're a Pinoy Mom My Version

We Filipinos are very unique, especially when it comes to raising children. Just some random thoughts about being a Filipino mom. I am confident a lot of moms (and children) can relate.

You know you're a Pinoy mom when...
1. You let your child "swim" outside your house using a big basin/batya.

2. You let your child play with a tabo when bathing.

3. One of the first greetings you teach your baby is to "bless" or mano.
4. You know and (unlike me) believe in the word usog.
5. Ninongs and ninangs are very important people in your family's life.

Noah's Baptism with his Ninongs and Ninangs

6. Once your baby starts eating, you give them Marie biscuit.

Miss this biscuit?

7. You have additional house help just for your baby/kid, and most call them yaya or ate. (does not apply to all moms)

These are some of the unique things I have experienced or witnessed as a Pinoy mom. It makes the motherhood journey more memorable and interesting.

There's a lot more to add here. Do you have anything to add to this list?

#ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines

Holidays with the Blays Part 2: Staycation and Family Time at Crimson Hotel

We usually go to Baguio during the days in between Christmas and New Year. 2014 was a change. Months away from December, my hubby and I decided to purchase a deal from Deal Grocer, offering pretty good rates for an overnight stay at Crimson Hotel in Filinvest, Muntinlupa City. We usually get travel deals or staycation deals from Deal Grocer, because they never disappoint, unlike some companies that failed in their delivery of service. And after trying Crimson a year ago, we said we would come back. So we grabbed the chance.

We went the day after Christmas. The hotel was packed. And it still very much felt like Christmas, with the beautiful Christmas decors placed in the lobby and the cool weather during our stay.

Gingerbread House at the Lobby

We only paid 3,750 php for a deluxe room, that included breakfast for two. I also got for my mom and she, along with my dad and 3-year-old nephew, joined our staycation. 

Hubby and pumpkin (nephew) in our room

We had a really relaxing and fun time. We went for a quick swim. The wind and the pool was sooo cold. I had to go out of the pool after five minutes. But the area around the pool was a nice place to take some photos. 

My pumpkin enjoying the cold swim

My son and my mom enjoying the pool area

Family picture

Dinner at Racks

We had dinner at Racks in Festival Mall and bought coffee from Figaro. After coffee and a little chat, we freshened up and got ready for one of the most restful sleeps I've had. It was a rare moment for us three to sleep comfortably in a bed that was larger than the one we have at home.

Breakfast, the one thing we were all looking forward to. There were lots of guests waiting in line for a table. We had to stay in the lobby for a couple of minutes before we were seated. And finally breakfast was served! I mean, it was time to go to the buffet. What I really love about the breakfast selection in Cafe 8 is that there are so many to choose from. Among the choices, my ultimate favorite were their breads and pastries. Oh wow! I was actually already happy to have that for breakfast. But of course, the curious, foodie me wanted to try the other dishes they served. We ate to our hearts' content and obviously enjoyed our time. Unfortunately, we were enjoying breakfast too much that we forgot to take photos. After a filling meal, we went back to our room and took our time before we checked out. Noah even had the chance to take his morning nap.

I was glad we had the chance to stay at Crimson and just take a break from all the busyness of the Christmas season. I was thankful for the chance to bond with my little nephew, whom I treated like my own when I was still living with my parents. And it was a blessed time that my little family spent time with my parents. This was a rare precious time together that we, especially my son, will definitely cherish. 

This is what makes Christmas truly meaningful, to experience God's love through time spent with family. It was definitely one staycation-to-remember.

Thank you, Crimson Hotel for a memorable staycation!

P.S. Thanks to my mom for the photos.

Holidays with the Blays Part 1: Advent Season

Holidays to me mean food, family, friends, fun, and faith. The whole month of December was filled with gatherings from all our circles of influences. I always look forward to this most wonderful time of the year because of all of these.

The Christmas season really doesn't begin until Advent ends. So our family did our best to celebrate the Advent season, too. We did not put up a lot of Christmas decors, though our house may be small and easy to decorate. We tried to focus more on praying with the season using our Advent wreath and our Jesse Tree.

Here I share part 1 of our Holiday Celebrations: the Advent Season.

Most people skip Advent and start enjoying Christmas as early as the first candle on the wreath is lit. We challenged ourselves to do it the right way. We went through Advent and awaited Christ's coming. I wish to impart the ways we tried to fight the urge to celebrate Christmas immediately.

Many of us are familiar with the Advent wreath. We used this short Advent Weekly Prayers to guide us. By the way, we have been using this DIY Advent wreath for the three consecutive years already.

3rd week of Advent: 3 candles lit

Now instead of the traditional Christmas tree, we used the Jesse Tree. A guide was also provided along with the tree. 

There are many ways to pray with the Jesse Tree, here is one source similar to what we used:

Jesse Tree

"The Jesse Tree helps us connect the custom of decorating Christmas trees to the events leading to Jesus' birth. The Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot shall come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Jesse was the father of King David. We adorn a Jesse Tree with illustrated ornaments that represent the people, prophesies, and events leading up to the birth of Jesus. The ornaments of the Jesse Tree tell the story of God in the Old Testament, connecting the Advent season with the faithfulness of God across four thousand years of history."

The idea is, you read passages pertaining to one significant event from Scripture leading to Jesus' birth. An ornament with a symbol is to be placed on the Jesse tree. As days to Christmas draw near, more ornaments are placed, decorations on the tree increase. Our source also makes cookies as an alternative for the wooden ornaments. But you have to eat them after Christmas. :)

On Christmas day, this is how the Jesse tree looks like

In the future, I plan to make shorter, child-friendly versions of the readings. Most readings were quite long but it helped that my hubby and I knew many of the stories, or else we would have to read them while having dinner. :)

We do our prayers before dinner time. We pray and light the candle/s in the Advent wreath, then we reflect and sometimes share about the readings for the Jesse tree. To be honest, we weren't able to complete the prayers. It was a challenge, especially during the weekends. But I believe God acknowledges our efforts. :)

These two have greatly helped us as a family to appreciate and "wait" patiently for Christmas day. Though it was difficult to stay faithful to them, I find that it has truly been a fruitful time of preparing for Christmas.

With Noah, who found the Jesse tree quite attractive, and our commitment to make time for Advent, our Advent journey was more meaningful this year.